Hail Columbia!

This book examines music as political expression in the early American republic from the post-revolutionary era through the aftermath of the War of 1812. Americans used music as a discursive tool during every major political development. The nation’s leaders faced challenges ranging from threats to the structure of the government to impressment, all amid the nearly constant threat of embroilment in European war and insecurity about the republic’s viability. Americans responded by using music to protest, stifle protest, propagandize, and vie for political dominance. Through music they persuaded, intimidated, lauded, legitimated, and demonized their fellow Americans based on their political beliefs and actions. In music they debated crucial questions about the roles and rights of citizens, the structure of government, and the pursuit of peace and prosperity. They used music to construct powerful narratives about the nation’s history, values, and institutions; to celebrate the accomplishments of country, community, and individual; and to reinforce a sense of identity in national and partisan terms. Organized chronologically, chapters address musical forms of propaganda during ratification of the Constitution, musical expression of transnational revolutionary aspirations, Federalist and Republican narratives of political legitimacy in music, political debates in music during the embargo years, and musical myth-making during the War of 1812. The conclusion summarizes this music’s reception through the remainder of the nineteenth century.